Gabe

At least 12 tornadoes touched down in central Georgia late Wednesday and Thursday killing one and injuring 22.
Gov. Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency in four counties.
Damage estimates are at $25 million, Georgia Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner John Oxendine said.
The strongest twister left a path of destruction 16 mile long and a half-mile wide with wind in excess of 165 miles-per-hour. Three others had wind in excess of a 100 of mph and covered a substantial distance; they varied in width with from a mile to 500 yards.
It is the worst outbreak in severe weather in Georgia since May of 2008, according to the National Weather Service.
information compiled from: AP and AJC

Posted by knap0164 at 5:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For spot and follows analysis I will compare the first and second released articles in the Crow River News on the topic covered in “Home Town Pride” blog entry.
The lead in the first article does not mention the plaintiff’s name as it did in the second. I think it is a better approach to use his name, because the paper is local and people know who he is. The lead in the second also highlights that one of two un-named defendants has been named.
The order of information in the second article then lists details of the recently named defendant, which is a bank that allegedly released private financial data.
This information is more important because it is new, and in an inverted pyramid approach should be told first.
The first article focused on the charges of slander and libel made by the current mayor and others over a four year period. It then offered a recent example of a meeting that involved such content.
The second article left out details entirely of the example and stuck with just the time frame in which they allegedly happened. The second article is likely an update for the next week’s paper. Repeating the same information is not neccisary if it has already been printed. But for an online application, I think it would be a good idea to keep the content with the second story.
The second article also tells an approximate amount of money that is involved, and highlighted that two more counts were added to the suit.

Posted by knap0164 at 5:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The epicenter of global warming is at a Moulin, said Glaciologist Dr. Jason Box.
What’s a Moulin? It’s the equivalent of a bathtub drain on the surface of a melting glacier that is a mile deep hole that funnels millions gallons of fresh melt water into the ocean each day, Dr. Box said. There are possibly thousands of them on the continent of Greenland.
See a moulin for yourself.

Posted by knap0164 at 5:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The AP reported Friday that Russian concerns will be considered as U.S. plans to locate missile sites in Poland and the Czech Republic.
The Obama administration has not decided if it will go forward with the plan—that was shaped during the Bush administration—intended to protect Europe and the U.S. from mid-east missile attacks.
Russia is displaying concerns reminiscent of the cold war era, and is protesting an imbalance of power a little too close to home. They want to be included in development of these sites.
The U.S. government has signed deals with both Poland and the Czech Republic with NATO approval.
''What's left for us to do: To underline and remind people that Poland accepted the American proposal, that last year a deal was signed ... and that the agreement binds both sides, and I stressed that during today's talks,'' Poland's Defense Minister Bogdan Klich said.

Posted by knap0164 at 5:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Greenfield, a small city in western Hennepin County known for its political infighting, is being sued again.
Former Greenfield Mayor Larry Plack filed a lawsuit against the city, current Mayor Jill Krout, the State Bank of Hamel and Charter Commission Member Bruce Rawlings Thursday.
Plack seeks punitive damages of at least $50,000 from each the defendant s for allegations that include: slander, libel, harassment, disclosure of private financial data, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress, malfeasance, civil rights violations and violation of oath of office.
In June of 2008, the city settled a lawsuit with the former City Administrator for a sum $425 thousand.
The mayor prior to these, Tom Swanson, faced criminal charges for land deals made with the city.

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Posted by knap0164 at 4:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An article published at the Star Tribune website reports that a person in Arizona died while base jumping.
The lead tells the basic facts: The what, where and how of the event.
The nut graph offers a little more detail and tells when it happened.
The article then goes into a chronology. It explains the initial call to rescuers, and then the trouble they had reaching the man (the who). It then explains that the he died an hour later.
There is no definite ending. The story is left open. More information will become available. If readers are curious to learn more they will have to read an update later.
The article is very short. but I think it is effective at getting the message to people.
A couple of other thing I noticed while reading this article: The author added the word “apparently�? to describe why this man died. I have seen this word used in other articles when they are speculating about something. It always seems out of place to me when I see the word in a news article. Also, the top of the mountain was referred to as the base. I’m going to look up the proper use of the word. --yup, a mountain base is the top of mountain.

Posted by knap0164 at 5:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eighty computers are missing from a major US nuclear weapons laboratory.
What information was on them is not known.
Over the past year, they were taken from a Los Alamos facility that was created during World War II for the Manhattan Project.
The site currently conducts research on national security, outer space, renewable energy and other things.

The AP reported that none of the computers contained classified information.
The computers have gone missing on multiple occasions.
11 have been recovered.
Some of the computers were stolen from an employee’s home who did not have authorization to take them there.

Posted by knap0164 at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jlUCqDbfvOMgcnOmIjSnqFNni6iQD96AF2F00
Police arrested a suspected arson Friday in connection to at least one of Australia’s wild fires.
Few details have been released.
More than a dozen fires are still burning.
Currently, 180 people have died and 7,000 are homeless.

The Age reported that the man was charged with arson Friday.
The courts ordered media not to disclose his identity.
Evidence shows at least two of the wildfires were intentionally set, police said.

Posted by knap0164 at 9:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Pioneer Press reported that a 33-year-old man was hit by a train around 11 p.m. Saturday on St. Paul’s East Side.
He was discovered by a worker aboard another train that drove by later, according to police commander Kevin Casper.

The Star Tribune’s article on the same incident cited KSTP-TV as its source.
They said the man fell asleep or passed out on the tracks near Palen Boulevard and Payne Avenue late Saturday night.
He was found by passersby.

Posted by knap0164 at 9:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The BBC reported that Obama’s $787 billion stimulus bill has passed in the house and the senate with very little republican support. It will be signed into law.
Seven democrats voted against the bill, and three republicans voted for it in the senate.
All Republicans and seven Democrats voted against the bill in the house. The remaining 246 Democrat votes passed the bill.
The bill will create 3.5 million new jobs, President Obama said.
It also will cap salaries and bonuses of Wall Street executives.
In the New York Times report, many experts were cited telling the pitfalls of the bill.

Posted by knap0164 at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday,The Minnesota Daily published an article on motivations students have to plagiarize.
This article cited 4 professors, a student and the director of Student Conduct and academic Integrity at the University of Minnesota.
The bulk of the article focused on why people plagiarize.
The first expert cited was Susan Blum, an anthropology professor at the University of Notre Dame who recently wrote a book on plagiarism.
Students plagiarize because it is easy, and because they aren’t motivated to do their work, Blum said.
The article then cites Eric Grodsky, a sociology professor at the U of M, who also said plagiarism was related to opportunity.
The topic then goes into the psychology plagiarism, and then into instances when it is done accidentally.
All sources were named in the article, and each was a credible authority on the subject.
The article offered reasons students could have to plagiarize
Each idea was supported by more than one source. This not only helped the story flow, it also added to likeliness of accuracy and believability for readers.
Almost every line in the article was cited. Most attributions were placed at the end of sentences. I think the overall approach to attributions in the article was effective.

Posted by knap0164 at 3:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The BBC’s most recent report on the wildfires in Australia Sunday evening reported the death toll from the fires to now be 108.
Thousands of fire fighters and the army are trying to extinguish many separate fires.
Arsonists were blamed for setting the fires. They will likely be charged with murder. (The sentence that makes this reference is worded in such a way that it sounds like people have been arrested but doesn’t actually say it.)
Fire was fueled by extreme temperatures and wind. The high temperatures were beginning to fall. People are waiting for rain to finally put the fires out.
700 homes and 115 square miles have been destroyed.
Most injuries from the fires have been from burns, John Coleridge from Alfred Hospital said.
"They range from minor, just the soles of their feet running away through embers, to people who've got major, life-threatening burns," he said.
The most recent AP story tells much of the same information. The order of statistics is somewhat different though.
(I need to aviod the tense shifts)

Posted by knap0164 at 2:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

the Star Tribune reported:

MnDot hopes to have pieces of the old 35-W bridge, currently located on the Bohemian Flats of the Mississippi river in downtown Minneapolis, moved to a site in Afton by summer.
Also, key pieces of the bridge form its investigation of collapse have returned from Washington DC.
The state of Minnesota has vested interest in preserving these parts. Many lawsuits are still unresolved.
A building will be constructed near Oakdale, at a cost of $500,000, to store the components.
MnDot will find another use for the 100 by 50 foot building when these particular pieces of the bridge are no longer needed.

Posted by knap0164 at 6:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CNN reported Friday that a Florida couple had their golden lab cloned.
They already have nine other dogs in addition to cats and birds and sheep, but were not satisfied with a particular dog’s 11 year life, they said.
A biotechnology company in South Korea preformed the task.
The cost was $155 thousand.
The couple was chosen by the company, along with three other candidates, to have the procedure done.
Lancey the dog, the late identical twin of Lancelot, has a bazaar interest in bush planted in memory of the latter. He has been spending a lot of time around it; hanging around it and digging holes, the couple said.
The humane society euthanized around 4 million pets last year.
There was no mention of complications to the procedure.

Posted by knap0164 at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

View image

A unique cow-like spotted deer was harvested in Texas this season.
There are a multitude of rumors circulating the internet about this animal. The Texas Big Game Awards (TBGA) seems to be the most reputable source I could find, but they say very little.
The photo is worth a look.

Posted by knap0164 at 5:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A 60-ton 1880’s vintage home that used to rest on Manitou Island made a successful 100-yard move across a frozen channel this week, the Star Tribune reported.
The house was originally the gatekeeper’s residence to the island, but was scheduled to be torn down.
Doug Kraemer purchased the home and hired engineers and movers to get it to its new location, about .35 miles away.
The ice in the channel was made thicker by spraying water over the surface prior to the move.
64 wheels displaced the home's weight on the floating sheet of ice.

http://www.startribune.com/local/38530692.html?elr=KArks8c7PaP3E77K_3c::D3aDhUxWoW_oD:EaDUiacyKUnciatkEP7DhU

Posted by knap0164 at 3:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The 123rd annual St. Paul Winter Carnival ice sculpture winners were released Wednesday. Scott, John, and Dick Morgan took the $1200 1st prize with their carving of “Hormel McSwine and Friends�?, the Star Tribune reported.

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/38303884.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUr

Have a look at some photos. http://wcco.com/slideshows/snow.sculptures.ice.20.639076.html?rid=0

Also, Ice boat racing on Lake Phalen added to this year’s events.
http://www.winter-carnival.com/events/fire_on_ice_ice_racing_competition/

Posted by knap0164 at 1:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)